The Collapse
by Kspence92
Summary: Original Story. Follow a young Boston couple as they come to terms with the opening days of the zombie apocalypse.


Do you really want to marry her, Bob?" Steve asked his younger brother sitting at the other side of the small oak table. Bob paid no attention to his brother's question; his eyes were transfixed on the busty blonde serving behind the bar. "Bob!" Steve threw a peanut to grab his brother's attention.

"Christ, Steve, did you see at the tits on her?" Bob smirked, still ignoring Steve's question.

"Bob. You're getting married in two weeks. I can tell you're having second thoughts." Steve said sipping at his nonalcoholic beer; one of the joys of being the designated driver.

"Maybe," Bob responded, still staring at the barmaid. "I don't know, man. I'm only twenty three. It's a big jump."

"Yeah I know. I was twenty eight when I got married. Doesn't seem like two years ago. I don't regret it for a moment. But I never had second thoughts…" Steve was cut short by his brother.

"She's coming, keep it down." Bob hissed as his fiancé came back from the toilet, flicking her long brown hair back as she sat back down.

"Sorry to keep you boys waiting, I had to do my make up again." Steph said. At twenty, she was drop dead gorgeous and Steve couldn't for the life of him figure out why Bob was getting cold feet about the wedding. He turned his attention to the frantic reporter on the TV hanging on the wall who was commenting on the spate of murders and riots that had sprung up the fast few days. There was talk of sending in the National Guard but so far nothing had happened.

Bob was about to open his mouth to say something when two men came crashing out of the men's restroom wrestling one another to the floor.

Steve just shook his head "It's the same in here every Saturday."

Without warning, one of the men, an older gentleman in a white shirt, let out an agonized roar. Steve had to wade through the gathering crowd to see what all the commotion was. The drunken crowd gasped and took several steps back. Some started to scream. Then he saw why. Blood was pooling over the wooden floorboards like a torrent. The man on the ground had his throat torn wipe open and one ear missing. As it turned out that ear was in the mouth of the man on top of him, who was chewing on it like it was a hamburger.

"Somebody call the cops!" Steve shouted as he marched over to the lunatic with the ear in his mouth and grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him off the man on the floor. If he wasn't already dead, he would be within seconds. His jugular was torn and it was impossible to stop the bleeding. Had it not been for the adrenaline rushing through him, Steve would have been scared. Even when he had been in the Marines in Afghanistan he hadn't seen savagery like what he had just witnessed. He held the man's hands behind his back and pinned him to the wall, unintentionally smashing his face against a cheap painting hanging there, knocking it to the floor. One of the barmen and another patron came over to assist, but even the three of them couldn't contain the madman. Even above the shouting and screaming, it was clear the man was growling like a rabid animal and snapping his teeth.

"This sonbitch must be on somethin'" one of the old timers called out.

No shit, Steve thought. The man had an incredible amount of energy. He swung around, knocking all three men off of him in one fell swoop, forcing Steve to the floor. He barred his teeth and snapped them mere inches from his face as Steve tried to push him off.

"Get off him mother fucker!" Bob shouted out, jumping over the table scattering bottles of beer to the floor where they shattered. Bob kicked the guy in the side of the head, giving Steve enough time to push him off and get back to his feet. The man grabbed Bobs shoe with his teeth, but failed to bite through. Bob saw an opportunity and with his free foot, brought it down on his neck, leading to a sickening crack. The man's neck was broken and he was almost certainly dead.

"Oh dear Jesus. Did I kill him?" Bob said in barely a whisper, covering his mouth. Steve checked for the man's nonexistent pulse, nodded and said "He was trying to kill us. It was self defence, man." He put his hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Cops are on the way," someone called from the far end of the bar. Nobody took much notice. They were too traumatized by the scene in front of them. To everybody's shock, the man that had had his throat torn open began to stir. Moving his arms and making an attempt to get to his feet.

"How the hell could he survive that?" Steve said in bewilderment. Bob took his t shirt off and knelt down next to the man, placing it on his neck in what was in all likelihood a vain effort to stop the bleeding. Nevertheless, he had to try. What else could he do?

"Try not to move sir, help's on the way. I just need to stop the…" before Bob could finish the man he was tending to rolled over on his back, then darted his neck forward, sinking his teeth into Bob's shoulder, removing a sizable chunk of flesh. Bob instinctively punched the man in the face, breaking his nose, and then tried to stand up. He staggered backwards clutching his shoulder, yelling in pain.

"Oh my God, Bob!" Steph cried out, rushing over to him. Steve ran behind the bar, grabbed a hand towel and returned to his wounded brother, pressing it on the wound in an effort to slow the bleeding.

"You're gonna be ok buddy. We need to get you to the hospital." Steve said to his brother who looked like he was about to collapse. "Steph, I'm going to drive us there. It's only a ten minute drive it'll be faster than waiting on an ambulance and to be honest I don't want to stay in here anyway."

Bob's fiancé nodded as tears streamed down her face. As they raced from the bar, another person cried out in pain. They did not turn around to look.

"Sit in the back with him and keep pressure on the wound." Steve said as they got in the car, his heart racing. "Put your seatbelts on."

As he sped towards the hospital, several police cars screamed by, likely heading towards the bar they had just fled. None made any effort to stop him from speeding. Heading the opposite direction two more police cars sped by with their sirens on followed by an ambulance.

"Hey, Bob, you just hang in there for me ok. We're almost at the hospital." Steve said, holding back tears. His brother was dipping in and out of consciousness and the small towel could only slow the bleeding, not stop it.

"Steve…" Bob started to speak. It was slow and slurred, but he was aware enough to talk. That was a good sign. "Remember the tree house? The one we helped dad build?"

"Yeah, I remember. I remember tripping and falling out because you could never tidy your toys away. Broke my damn arm." Steve said forcing a smile looking in the mirror.

"I stayed with you till mom got home. I went and got ice for your arm and took you over to the neighbors." Bob said, his voice growing more tired by the second.

"I know, I know. You even used your piggy bank savings to buy me a new football the day I got out the hospital." Steve said. The tears were now silently falling down his face. He had heard men speak like this before; injured friends in Afghan as they slipped away. He put his foot down and pressed on to the hospital.

"Stay with me Bob!" Steph cried, borderline hysterically as he slumped over. "Steve fucking do something!"

"Shit." Steve growled as he saw his brother fall into unconsciousness. Or was he dead? "Bob, you gotta' wake up for me. Come on man wake up we're at the hospital!"

The car turned into the hospital parking lot and at that point it because immediately clear something was wrong. Something was very wrong. There was not a single empty parking space anywhere and seven ambulances were parked at the main entrance, along with two police cars. Steve had no time to wonder what was going on, he was more concerned with saving his brother.

"Steph, check for a pulse!" Steven demanded as he looked for a place to park.

"I can't find one. I can't fucking find one!" she sobbed.

she sobbed. Remembering a first aid course she had done at school, she placed her ear to his mouth to listen for breath, just as Steve pulled into a single free spot in the ambulance parking pay. They could give him hell for parking there all they wanted. His priority was his brother.

"I don't think he's breathing!" she sobbed as she listened for breath.

Then a sudden screamed piereced through the car

"Bob what the fuck are you doing!" Steve roared at his brother. Bob jerked his head towards him and met his eyes with his. His pupils were almost nonexistent. At that moment Steve knew that his brother did not recognize him. The look was that of a rabid animal chasing its prey. That was no longer his brother in there.

Steve bolted out the car, slamming the door shut behind him. Bob turned his attention back to the mortally wounded Steph, tearing into her face. There was nothing he could do to save her and he knew it. Her eyes pleaded with him to come back and help before they too were torn out by Bob's savage teeth.

All he wanted to do was collapse on the ground in tears, but he couldn't. He needed to get Bob help. Deep down he knew that was no longer Bob in the car, but he had to do something. The automatic doors of the front entrance slid open to reveal a scene best suited to some chaos ridden country in the Middle East. Doctors and nurses rushed in every which direction whilst queues of people waited anxiously to find out about recently admitted family members. Dozens of people filled the seats in the waiting room, most of whom had bandages around their hands or heads. Many were crying. A few lay on the floor writhing in pain. Two police officers armed with shotguns stood at the reception watching over the ever increasing crowd, as though expecting trouble to break out at any moment. Steve got the feeling those guns had seen action very recently judging by the visibly upset expression on the officers faces.

"Excuse me, my brother…" Steve started to talk to one of the cops, who cut him off

"Have you been bitten?"

"No," Steve responded with a look of bewilderment "Please help me. My brother; I think he's sick. He attacked his fiancé"

"A lot of people are sick," the older cop said exchanging a look with his younger partner "Was he breathing when he attacked his fiancé?"

"What kind of fucking question is that?" Steve exploded.

"Was. He. Breathing." The cop repeated the question, word by word in a tone that suggested he had run out of patience with everyone and everything. He looked like he hadn't slept in days.

Steve stopped and thought for a moment. Steph had said she was sure Bob wasn't breathing.

"I…I don't think so." Steve said, unsure of himself. It seemed ridiculous. If he had died he couldn't have possibly attacked Steph.

"Where is he?" the younger cop asked.

In my car, I'm parked next to the ambulances. He's just badly hurt her, probably even killed her you need to get out thereWhat the hell is going on?"

"I don't know." The older cop responded, suddenly losing his official tone "A lot of weird incidents all over town the last few days. People biting each other. Haven't you been watching the news?"

"The radio said something about a cannibal serial killer or cult this morning." Steve replied rubbing his stubbly chin. His hands were still shaking.

"It's not a god damn cult. These people are popping up everywhere. We had a call out this morning to a woman who said her ten year old son murdered his own father with his fucking teeth! I don't know what it is but I bet its some chemical waste spill or some messed up strain of rabies." The younger officer said. He looked almost relieved to get that off his chest. Both of them looked exhausted and in desperate need of a coffee and a long sleep.

"Why did you ask if he had stopped breathing?" Steve asked, suddenly wondering the connection between the lack of breathing and whatever the hell was going on.

The two cops looked at one another again, the older one nodded to the younger one who spoke in a hushed tone.

"We're not supposed to talk about this. In fact we aren't even supposed to know it, but I know the coroner, he's my brother in law. He told me of, well, it sounds crazy but some of the bodies that were taken to the morgue…got up and started walking. He said the State Health Board and the Governor are trying to keep it quiet to avoid a panic. At first I thought he was pulling my leg, and then we heard stories from EMT's of people dying then getting back up and attacking them. An ambulance crew was murdered on a call out this morning, a responding patrol car found the EMT's wandering around with their intestines dragging on the ground. Whatever it is, it's fucked up."

"You're telling me my brothers dead and alive at the same time ? What a crock of horseshit ! I don't know why he did what he did but he's certainly not dead its impossible ! One of the doctors can help surely." Steve pleaded, fighting back tears.

"Son," the older cop said placing a hand on Steve's shoulder "Going on the things we have seen today. There's nothing that can be done to help your brother. I'm really sorry."

"He just tore his fiance apart in the backseat of my goddamn car ! You have to go out there and do something !"

"As long as the car doors are closed he wont pose a threat. They dont open doors. They're not intelligent." the cop responded. "We have to stand guard here we will sort out your car as soon as we can, sir."

Defeated, Steve slumped down against the reception desk and sat on the floor and sobbed quietly. The cop spoke about his brother as though he wasnt even human. Twenty minutes earlier they had been having a good time in the local bar, and now everything had gone to hell and he didn't even know why.

He glanced up at the television that was playing next to the reception desk. It was impossible to hear over the din of people milling around crying, shouting and arguing. The reporter stood in front of a line of police cars where several officers equipped in riot gear were fighting against unarmed but very aggressive people. The camera panned over the scene and settled on a paramedic bandaging a wounded officers arm whilst another more seriously injured cop was wheeled into the back of an ambulance. A ticker scrolling along the bottom of the screen reported that a state of emergency had been declared in eleven different states due to rioting and that the Secretary of Homeland Security would be a statement within the hour.

"What the hell is going on ?" Steve said quietly to himself, drying his eyes. He was determined to help his brother, but how ?

His thoughts were cut off by a high pitched scream down the hall. The two police officers at the reception looked at one another with a look of apprehention before heading off in the direction of the commotion.

Then the gunfire started.

The news anchor was reading out the Governors statement urging people to keep calm, not that anybody in the hospital was paying attention to that. The screams down the hall only intensified as did the gunfire. One of the policemen that Steve had spoked to moments earlier rushed past him clutching his throat before slumping down against the wall. Steve knelt down to try and help the mauled man only to be dragged back by his partner.

"You cant help him, man. Only this can." the younger cop said as he fired his shotgun at point blank range into his face. His pleading, scared eyes exploded in a shower of gore that painted the wall behind him with blood.

"What the fuck man !" Steve recoiled. "What was that shit you just killed him !"

"He was dead already. Didnt you listen to what we were saying to you earlier ? He would have tried to kill you or someone else. Thats how it works." the young cop said holding back tears as the full weight of everything fell upon him. "This is so fucked up." he said more to himself than anyone else as he radioed for assistance, only to be told all units were busy and he was on his own.

"You should get out of here. Go home and lock your doors." he told Steve. "This is only getting worse."

Several people sprinted past, fleeing the wards. Many were hobbling on crutches or being carried by medical staff. What were the running from ? Sure enough Steve got his answer as several more patients rounded the corner, many horribly injured. They seemed to be pursuing the other patients and staff. They stumbled and fell but they were relentless. A nurse barely out her teens had her ear ripped off as she tried in vain to defend a wheelchair bound patient. She fought back but was overwhelmed by sheer numbers. The noise of flesh torn from bone made Steve gag. The cop fired several shells at the crazy people and several fell, only to get back up and keep coming. Only headshots seemed to take them down permanantly. He switched to his sidearm as he ran out of ammo for his shotgun. Steve didnt see what happened next as he turned to flee but he heard the cops screams. At least the man went down fighting.

"What the hell is this ?" Steve said to himself as a massacre started to unfold before his eyes. Staff were eating patients, patients eating eachother, visitors eating staff. It was like a scene from Hell. One man hoisted his small son atop a vending machine seconds before being devoured by the...whatever the hell these "people" were. It was painful to watch.

Steve fled from the hospital and back to his car. Bob and Sarah were still in the back seat where he had left them. He vomited at the sight. She had no face. No eyes or nose or ears. Just a bloody mess of hanging flesh and exposed bone. Yet she was still moving about as was Bob, smearing bloody hand prints against the windows.

"I'm sorry, man. I'm sorry." Steve cried as he ran in terror, tears streaming down his cheeks. He barely missed being hit by a speeding car. The parking lot had turned into a madhouse as people tried to flee the hospital. There were a dozen fender benders and many more angry drivers honking their horns. A few people got knocked over by cars. It was sheer pandemonium. A news helicopter overhead was filming the whole thing live for the world to see.

He ran for at least fifteen minutes on sheer adreniline before finally collapsing on the side walk outside a coffee shop in an emotional heep. Passers by ignored him or gave him funny looks. Looking around it was clear the chaos at the hospital and other parts of town hadnt affected this neighborhood...yet. No wonder people were wondering what the hell a man was doing crying on the sidewalk.

He composed himself, stood up and took out his phone to call his wife. Alana was an angel who always there for him. Right now he needed to hear her voice. The call wouldnt go through. The cell networks had been overloaded as people tried to call family members to make sure they were ok.

"Shit." he muttered and hailed a passing cab. The cab driver told him he would be his last fare for the day and would be returning to the depot shortly due to everything that was going on. The ride home was uneventful. Plenty of passing police cars and fire trucks but thankfully none of those monsters. He finally brought himself to think of them as something other than people. That wasnt his brother trapped in the car. That was something else. It made it easier to cope with thinking about it like that.

He slipped the driver an extra $10 on top of the fare and unlocked the front door of his home. The two story house wasnt much to look at but it was their home paid for by their hard work. It was a quiet neighborhood with friendly neighbors and that was what mattered.

"Alana ?" Steve said as he locked the door behind him.

"You're home early babe." She called from the kitchen. She came into the living room and saw his dishevelled state. "Jesus Steve, are you alright ?"

He opened his mouth to speak. He tried again but no words came out, just sobs. She held him tight.

"Its ok baby. What's happened ?" she asked, her big blue eyes full of worry.

"Oh babe its so fucked up i dont know where to start."

"Just tell me what happened, hon." she said.

"I'll tell you what happened," he snapped "By brother ate his fucking fiance alive in my car. He ate the eyes right out of her fucking head ! You wanna know what happened next ? I went into the hospital and saw cops shooting walking fucking corpses. Patients who died got back up and started eating each other ! Thats what the fuck happened !" and with that off his chest he broke down sobbing again. "I'm sorry i didnt mean to take it out on you. Its been a weird day." he croaked.

"Steve you're not making any sense." she said holding him and looking increasingly frightened.

"You been watching the news?" he asked.

"Sure. I got sent home early from the office because of the riots. The police closed off the entire area. The TV said they're talking about sending in the National Guard." Alana said glancing over at the TV.

"Its not a riot. I dont know what it is but this is something new. People are dying then they're coming back somehow. Maybe its something in the water, i dont know. Its messed up." Steve said sitting down with his wife on the couch. The TV screen showed police officers directing traffic away from Downtown where the worst of the violence was being reported. The ticker at the bottom of the screen had a list of affected cities : New York, Boston, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston...the list went on.

"They dont want people to know that dead people are getting up and attacking. They're covering it up to keep the panic down. People will figure it out eventually. Sooner or later everyone will know." he said. His wife just looked at him sceptically. It was understandable, Steve thought. It was a lot to take in.

The newscaster went on "Massachusetts has become the 12th state to declare a state of emergency as outbreaks of violence continue to be reported nationwide with seemingly no explanation as to why this is happening. Speculation about a chemical spill or viral outbreak continues but so far nothing has been confirmed. A few moments ago, the Secretary of Homeland Security made a statement calling for people to avoid travel, keep off the phones to keep lines open and not to make contact with anyone behaving in a suspicious manner."

"What the hell is going on, Steve ?" Alana asked scratching her head. Her blonde hair ended just below her shoulders. As far as Steve was concerned she as still as gorgeous as the day he met her.

"I have no idea honey." he said staring at the TV, his eyes still red andpuffy "I have no idea."


End file.
